GreenWorks Awarded 2011 ASLA Oregon Merit Award

ASLA Oregon’s 2011 Design Awards were held this month, celebrating landscape design in our region.  GreenWorks took home the Merit Award in the Research & Communication Category for our work on the Clean Water Services Low Impact Development Approaches Handbook.

The Clean Water Services Low Impact Development Approaches Handbook promotes sustainable stormwater management and site design practices that protect precious natural resources. It is a practical tool for those who make or influence development decisions in the urban portions of the Tualatin River Basin, Washington County, Oregon. The handbook communicates using colorful graphics, photos and tables to present stormwater management measures that are aesthetically appealing and can be readily incorporated into site landscaping and architecture.

Congrats to GreenWorks and all the winners at this year’s ASLA Awards!

To view all of the Oregon ASLA Awards visit:  http://www.aslaoregon.org/blog/2011/10/11/asla-oregon-2011-design-awards-winners-announced

SE Clay Street Green Street Open House

Join GreenWorks and the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services at Indent Studios for an Open House discussing SE Clay Street Green Street this Thursday the 13^th from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. The Open House will present the latest information on the project and answer questions about the community impact of the new green street. GreenWorks worked with the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services on the streetscape design for 12 block section ofSE Clay Street in the Central Eastside Industrial District (CEID). The new green street will provide a pedestrian friendly corridor from Ladd’s Addition to the Eastbank Esplanade.

We hope to see you there!

For more information visit:

http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=47012&a=367456

GreenWorks Competes in Bike to Work Challenge

The results are in! GreenWorks participated in this year’s Bike Commute Challenge, totaling 1239 miles during the month of September. The Bike Commute Challenge takes place every September in Portland – putting workplace against workplace to see who can commute the most by bicycle. GreenWorks finished this year with 68% ridership.

GreenWorks also held its annual internal Bike Commute Challenge with “Most Days Biked” awarded to Azad Sadjadi (19), “Most Trips” to Andrea Cameron (100%), and “Most Miles Biked” to Alex Perove (418 miles). Congrats to GreenWorks for your miles put in and hard work in this year’s challenge!

Ben Johnson Joins GreenWorks

GreenWorks is proud to announce the addition of Ben Johnson to the firm.  

Johnson recently joined GreenWorks as a landscape architect with 12 years of experience primarily in waterfront parks, regional trails and greenways, community parks, public plazas, streetscapes, and sustainable higher education projects. Johnson’s professional experience has been in the Pacific Northwest and he has gained a reputation for strong technical skills and successful collaboration with clients and consultants while successfully managing multi-million dollar public projects. His experience and skills have allowed him to contribute and lead projects from master plan through implementation.  A recent signature project, which Ben is proud of, is the Nancy Russell Overlook along the Cape Horn trail on the Washington side of the Gorge. This spectacular viewpoint was constructed in honor of Nancy Russell.  While at Walker Macy, Ben worked with the Friends of the Columbia River Gorge, Forest Service, and Cape Horn Trail Conservancy to develop the vision for the overlook and then managed the project from concept design through construction. Johnson received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Florida.

Mt. Hood Community College Early Childhood Center Approaches Completion

Mt. Hood Community College Early Childhood Center is nearing completion! As the first new building on the Troutdale campus in nearly three decades, the center will provide a hands-on environment for college students to work with young children. GreenWorks designed a Landscape Site Plan for the center creating three distinct areas focused on different learning environments: an area for infants, an area for 3-5 year olds, and an area for free play and exploration which is less structured and serves as a nature classroom.

GreenWorks assisted the client in building a natural play vocabulary, design sense and product knowledge needed to support the development and approval of a nature based playground. Features include earthen mounds, rocks and logs for climbing, a sand and water play area, a sensory garden and art and music features. The playground aims to inspire a deeper connection between young people and nature that they will continue to develop throughout their lives.

Willamette Week’s Finder Guide Highlights Two GreenWorks Projects

Willamette Week’s Finder, an annual guide to Portland’s neighborhood hot spots features two GreenWorks projects in its recent 2011 issue. The Finder names Da Vinci Middle School as one of Laurelhurst/28^th Avenue’s “Best Kept Secrets.”  GreenWorks designed the site work for this modular 21st century classroom that is certified LEED Platinum.

http://npaper-wehaa.com/finder/13067/?preview=1#2011/08/s1/?page=46

The Finder also features the GreenWorks’ Kenton Streetscape project with a neighborhood mention by Mayor Sam Adams. While noting the huge Paul Bunyan statue as an icon in the area, Mayor Adams describes Kenton Streetscape as “the real babe of the neighborhood.”  He mentions the neighborhood’s redevelopment as a “fully retrofitted green main street, with wider sidewalks, concrete-and granite benches, and a granite sculpture by Mauricio Saldana.”

http://npaper-wehaa.com/finder/13067/?preview=1#2011/08/s1/?page=50

GreenWorks Announces New Hires

GreenWorks announces two professionals join the firm – Jeff Boggess, and Wes Shoger. Jeff Boggess, Associate rejoins GreenWorks as a landscape designer with experience in recreational, infrastructure and urban design. Beginning in 2002, Jeff enjoyed 2 years with GreenWorks before departing on a five-year venture working for the German firm Atelier Dreiseitl. While with Atelier Dreiseitl, Jeff divided his time between the firm’s offices in Germany, Singapore and China. He gained a broad understanding of the landscape architecture profession and its potential for positive impact to the development and stewardship of our planet at a variety of scales. From new eco-cities designed for 1.5 million inhabitants to small-scale stormwater cleansing biotopes enjoyed by people and wildlife, Jeff gained diverse international experience that he brings back to GreenWorks. Jeff provides a functional design aesthetic that is modern, provocative, and promotes social and environmental accountability.

Wes Shoger joins GreenWorks as a landscape designer with experience in streetscape, plaza, transit and urban design. Wes’s interests lie in the integration of green infrastructure in cities; He is excited about being a part of a group that practices environmental stewardship as a core belief. Wes enjoys many project types, with a particular interest in urban design and environmental rehabilitation projects.  In his free time, he enjoys hiking, photography, technology, volunteering and craft beer.

Congratulations and welcome Jeff and Wes!

Riverdale Grade School Final Walk Through Complete

Last week GreenWorks made their final walk through at the new Riverdale School campus, the new development of a 45,000 square foot state-of-the-art, two-story education facility for grades K-8, including approximately 24 classrooms. The project incorporates sustainable site practices and LEED design. In addition to a new education facility, the project provides improved child safety, bus routing, parking and parent drop-off areas as well as a central courtyard for outdoor play and environmental learning areas.

Cape Horn Trail Pedestrian Tunnels

Stone work construction is nearly complete on the facades of two pedestrian tunnels currently under construction on Highway 14 in the Columbia Gorge. For additional information about this project, please go to http://greenworkspc.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/construction-of-cape-horn-trail-pedestrian-tunnel-improvements/  

GreenWorks Welcomes Intern Ben Hedstrom

 

The summer season brings new opportunity at GreenWorks with Ben Hedstrom  joining the team as an intern. Ben, a third-year Cornell MLA student, kicked off his internship with the construction of a model for the Hillsboro Reservoir #3 project. The model serves as a tool for community members to further understand the attributes of the new reservoir, namely that it won’t be visible from their homes in Hillsboro with careful tree and shrub planting design.

The model also provides a learning opportunity for Ben whose interests lie in the social side of green infrastructure and in the way landscape architecture impacts communities beyond design.  “It’s not enough to provide sustainable practices. I am interested in how we as landscape architects can educate the public to understand how design solves problems and extends beyond a site’s boundaries,” Hedstrom said.

Ben starts his third and final year at Cornell this fall and will be working with GreenWorks throughout the summer on a wide range of projects.  That range is what attracted Ben to this internship.  He mentions “I enjoy the wide variety of sustainable projects GreenWorks has to offer. The exposure to the range in both scope and design is proving to be a tremendous learning experience.”